Motorola Announces MOTOROI Android Phone For Korea

Why hello there Motorola Motoroi. Didn't we once know you as the Motorola Sholes Tablet? Yeah, we're pretty sure we'd never forget that odd bump you have--that thing is still unsightly to us. In any case, the Motorola Motoroi has become the first official Motorola Android phone that's launching in...Korea! The wonderful specs are in line with what we've seen earlier, which is a 3.7 inch WVGA screen, 8 megapixel camera, 720p video recording, and HDMI out. It runs regular Android 2.0 (no mention of Motoblur) but adds five homescreens for your swiping and viewing pleasure.

According to Motorola, the Motoroi will have multitouch and five distinct text input methods: a 3X4 keypad, full QWERTY, half QWERTY, hand writing and writing pad. It'll be available in South Korea on SK Telecom, no official pricing announced yet.

What do you guys think? We love the specs of the device but we can't imagine that the bump would fly here in the US, it'd be the chin-drama all over again!

HTC A9292 may be Sprint WiMAX 'Supersonic'

A Sprint roadmap recently was unearthed by Phone Arena, showing off an HTC A9292 "WiMAX bar handset." Now Engadget says it has the goods on the phone. Hope you're sitting down.

The codename reportedly is "Supersonic," which showed up a month or so ago in that giant batch of leaked codenames. It'll have a 4.3-inch display (regular ol' LED) and essentially is an Android 2.1-powered HD2 with a Snapdragon processor, with Sense on board to boot. It'll also have a kickstand, (and we're willing to bet it's not just for looks and that it'll serve as an antenna, like on the Windows Mobile Verizon Imagio, for FLO TV). It's reportedly been seen in white, but it's unclear if that'll make it into production, or if it's just a prototype model. Also, the software was said to be so buggy that any release likely is a good ways off.

So with what we "know" now, we're pretty much looking at a Android HD2 with WiMAX and possibly FLO TV. That got any of you Sprint fans foaming at the mouth yet?

Amazon MP3 coming for Android in UK

Those of us in the United States have been enjoying Amazon MP3 on our Android phones since the launch of the G1 way back in October 2008. You blokes in the UK? Not so much. But those day are nearly over, friends, as the Android 2.1 update will add the Amazon MP3 store to your phones, according to the British Telegraph news site. And with it you'll get direct access to more than 9 million songs, along with a strong competitor to Apple's iTunes. Amazon hasn't officially announced this yet, and it's unclear whether phones running previous Android builds will get in on the fun.

And as for when the Android 2.1 update will be dropping? Sorry, still don't have an official date on that yet. [Telegraph.co.uk via Engadget]

Update: @terminal7 on Twitter lets us know that, actually, Amazon MP3 (UK) has been available for previous versions, at least on his rooted G1. Any UK people help clear that up for us?

Apple filed for patent on home screen contacts in 2008

Sure, Apple's greatest love is technology, but it's second greatest love is patent filing. And it turns out that Cupertino filed for one way back in June 2008 that describes contact icons on a smartphone home screen. That's something that we've been doing on Android for a while now. But the patent filing goes a bit further. Here's the exact verbage.

An icon can be created for a contact (e.g., an individual(s) or an entity) and presented on a user interface of a mobile device, such as a "home screen." The icon can be used to retrieve and display contact information. The icon can also be used to invoke one or more applications that are personalized to the contact. The icon can be modified to display information related to the contact. In one aspect, an icon associated with an entity can be temporarily displayed on the mobile device based on the proximity of the mobile device to the entity. The icon can be used to retrieve and display information related to the entity. Additionally, the icon can be removed from the display on the mobile device when the mobile device is no longer within a certain proximity of the entity.

F is for Froyo, not Flan, Android exec says

Pardon the name dropping, but the SPE crew shared a limo ride with Android Senior Project Manager Erick Tseng at CES, and he asked us what we thought the "F" version of Android (remember that the nicknames are going alphabetically) would be. Of course, "Flan" had been the front-runner for some time, and we were scratching our heads at what else it could possibly be. Given that C was "Cupcake," D was "Donut" and E was "Eclair," following down the pastry trail seemed like a given.

Turns out, we were all way off. The next version of Android, Tseng told Engadget today, will be known as "Froyo," short for frozen yogurt. That opens up a realm of dessert possibility we hadn't considered before.

Really? The Nexus Two?

Forgive us for being more than a little skeptical here ... But really? This render, purported to be of the Motorola Shadow (an obvious Droid follow-up, design-wise) would be the next in Google's Nexus line, following the Nexus One (a blatant HTC design)? Look, a QWERTY-keyboard follow-up to the Nexus One makes sense, especially if you bring in an HTC-caliber keyboard, like that of the WinMo Touch Pro 2, another HTC device.

Switching manufacturers in the middle of a line, well, that's more than a little far-fetched. Or, was Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha joining Google and HTC on stage at the Nexus One launch a bit of foreshadowing? Hmmm? Still, we're betting something's been lost in translation along the way. And don't get us started on the wrist strap.

Quick app: Geodelic

While at CES we had the privilege to present a number of companies at the Mobile Apps Showdown, a live (and online) competition to find the top apps on any of the major platforms. I was paired with Geodelic (formerly Sherpa), a location-based search program with a little trick up its sleeve. Find out what, after the break.

Motorola Milestone sees price drop in UK

Now that Expansys' period of exclusivity is over on the Motorola Milestone (aka the non-U.S. version of the Droid), it's time for price wars to begin. And we're already seeing it at £400 or so, and more discounts aren't out of the question. Good news for those of you who were able to hold out for a little while. [via Intomobile]

Rogers halts Dream sales over 911-GPS issue, software fix on the way

If you're one of our Canadian readers with an HTC Dream on Rogers with Android 1.5, stop what you're doing and read this, eh?

You should have by now been contacted by text message that there's an issue with completing 911 galls that's related to GPS location, and that a software fix is on the way. Here's the, erm, text of the text:

URGENT 911 calls: Please disable GPS location on your HTC Dream device to ensure all 911 calls complete. HTC is urgently working on a software upgrade and we will provide details shortly so you can re-enable GPS.

Here are the steps to turn off GPS:

Hit the Menu button.

Choose Settings

Choose Location

Uncheck Enable GPS Satellite

Rogers apparently has pulled the Dream for the time being, until things are cleared up. Good luck, folks, and let us know when the update fix rolls in. [via MobileSyrup]

Nexus One video review

Our full, no-holds-barred Nexus One review is coming shortly. In the meantime, here's a video walkthrough to whet your appetite. (And don't forget about our hands-on at CES, and our FAQ). Join us after the break.

Motorola 'Ruth' reportedly in the works

Another Motorola codename is coming down the pike, and this time it's the Ruth, or MB511. CellPhoneSignal got the goods, and it looks like the Ruth will be another MotoBlur device. It's initially running Android 1.5, but a 2.0 or 2.1 upgrade certainly is likely. The screen size shows up as 240x320 (man, that's old-school), along with the familiar Qualcomm MSM7200A processor at 528MHz, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 802.11 b/g and aGPS. Also, it's looking to be a GSM device, so AT&T or T-Mobile may be in the cards should this hit America.

AT&T lowers its smartphone plans, too

Not to be outdone by Verizon lowering its rates today, AT&T has announced that it's changing up its smartphone plans, too. Here's the skinny:

All smartphone customers, including iPhone customers, may now buy unlimited voice and data for $99.99. For smartphone customers with Family Talk plans (prices assume 2 smartphones), unlimited voice and data is now available for $179.99. Texting plans remain unchanged at $20 for unlimited plans for individuals, $30 for Family Talk Plans.

Sprint updates the Samsung Moment, but you have to visit them to get it

Sprint just announced a "maintenance update" to the Samsung Moment Android phone. No, not a full-on Android upgrade, unfortunately. And, what's worse, you'll have to hit up a Sprint store to get it. Here's what's new:

Network Assist GPS to allow indoor location fix

Updates to several third-party apps, including Visual Voicemail, NFL, NASCAR and Sprint TV

Sprint does say "The ability to download the updated directly on your Moment will be available in the near future," which is nice, we guess, but that really should the standard now. Anyhoo, if you head in and get the update, let us know how it goes. [Sprint]

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